The present invention is directed to an apparatus for automatically affixing pre-printed cards to a moving printed paper web in synchronism with the moving web so that each of the cards is affixed to the moving web at a predetermined position in a repeat length of the moving web.
An apparatus for affixing cards to a moving web of the type relating to the invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,517 to Neal, et al. That apparatus has a rotating feed roll 30 that receives a strip or web 12 of pre-printed cards and feeds the web of cards to an applicator drum 80 that periodically causes one of the pre-printed cards to be separated from the card web 12 and applied to a moving web 108 having a number of pre-printed pages.
Each card is affixed to the moving web 108, by adhesive, at the same predetermined position on each of the pages of the web 108. In order to accomplish that function, the position of the card web 12 with respect to the feed roll 30 must be precisely controlled at all times. To that end, the card web 12 is provided with a plurality of registration holes 34 along its length, as shown in FIG. 3 of the Neal, et al. patent, and the feed roll 30 is provided with a ring of registration pins 32. During operation, the card web 12 is passed over the feed roll 30 so that the registration pins 32 are positioned within the registration holes 34 in the card web 12 so that there is no slippage between the card web 12 and the feed roll 30.
The position of the card web 12 relative to the feed roll 30 has to be maintained fixed so that the cards are affixed in their proper places on the printed web 108. Any movement or slippage between the card web 12 and the feed roll 30 would cause cumulative error in the positions at which the cards are affixed to the printed web 108. For example, if the card web 12 were to slip relative to the feed roll 30 at a rate of 0.001 inch per card, and if the apparatus were run at the rate of 80,000 cards per hour as disclosed in the Neal, et al. patent, the cumulative positional error in the affixation of the cards to the printed web 108 would be more than one inch after only one minute of operation.
A prior art apparatus of the type described in the Neal et al. patent and marketed by Hurletron Incorporated, which was used to affix pre-printed cards having registration holes formed therein to a moving printed web using a card feed device with registration pins as described above, was provided with a controller to synchronize the movement of the web of pre-printed cards, which was moving at a first relatively low speed, to the movement of a printed web onto which the cards were to be affixed, which printed web was moving at a second, relatively fast speed. The controller was identical to the controller shown in FIG. 7 of this patent, and the controller included a computer program substantially identical to the one that is illustrated by the flowchart shown in FIGS. 8A-8C of this patent.